Feeding alligators, deer, raccoons, and feral cats on Charleston public property and parks is restricted, since human-fed wildlife becomes aggressive and creates serious public-safety hazards in the Lowcountry.
South Carolina makes feeding alligators a misdemeanor under SC §50-15-65 because fed gators lose fear of people and must often be euthanized. Charleston's Chapter 5 and park rules under Chapter 30 reinforce this by prohibiting deliberate feeding of wildlife in city parks, marsh areas, and along the Battery. Feral cat colonies are tolerated in some neighborhoods only when managed under trap-neuter-return programs coordinated with Charleston Animal Society. Feeding that creates unsanitary conditions, attracts rats, or draws raccoons can also be cited under property-maintenance and nuisance provisions across all three counties Charleston spans.
State alligator-feeding charges are misdemeanors with substantial fines; city park feeding violations bring civil citations, and persistent nuisance feeding can trigger property-maintenance abatement orders.
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